Hardly anyone is completely themselves around new people. There are the awkward hellos, small talk, and unnecessary politeness. “Transparency” is a concept mentioned in the book The Circle by Dave Eggers. This concept includes giving volunteers- some normal people, some government officials- cameras connected to a live streaming video feed that anyone can view. This gives the volunteers no privacy but they are led to believe the feed will give those with disabilities or others who want to experience the world through the eyes of someone else an advantage. But isn’t it true that everyone needs some privacy? It seems that whoever is transparent could never be themselves and would never get a break. They would have to be “on” at all times.

The idea of transparency is very similar to technology nowadays. Though social media companies have yet to create “transparent” features, there is newly released Facebook Live that allows users to livestream themselves on their account, letting the user limit who can see their feed. Other social media platforms allow, and encourage, people to post as much as possible. Snapchat has created “streaks” that motivate people to snap others as many consecutive days as possible. Snapchat also allows large numbers of people people to see the world through the user’s eyes. It is easy for the viewer to judge and easy for the producer to post more and to conform to what other people are posting to receive more likes, followers, views. People begin to distort themselves online so they are not judged and so they can receive more praise. In The Circle, the main character Mae begins to distort herself little by little once she goes transparent. On page 331, after Mae’s recent transition in becoming transparent, she starts noticing a change in her habits,“The image on her wrist showed the interior of the refrigerator as she scanned for a snack. Normally, she would have grabbed a chilled brownie, but seeing the image of her hand reaching for it, and seeing what everyone else would be seeing, she pulled back.”

Celebrities see the most struggle with privacy. Going to the store becomes a big deal–various swarms of people and paparazzi crowd them–and anything celebrities post online is up for intense scrutiny. The way celebrities are perceived online and in person is very similar to the way people who go transparent in The Circle have to be. In The Circle, if the transparent person does anything out of the ordinary from what the viewers are used to seeing, they are judged, or are repeatedly asked what’s wrong. For example, on page 413 to 414, Mae begins to feel the pressure of having many people watching her. “The volume of information, of data, of judgements, of measurements, was too much, and there were too many people, and too many desires of too many people, and too many opinions of too many people, and having all of it constantly collated, collected, added and aggravated, and presented to her as if that all made it tidier and more manageable–it was too much… Mae’s wrist was flashing with dozens of messages of concern. With the help of the SeeChange cameras, watchers were noticing her standing, stock-still, her face contorted into some raging, wretched mask.” When a celebrity nowadays does something out of the ordinary, or what they say is misinterpreted, the public jumps to conclusions to form an alternate opinion around someone they don’t even know. The effect of fame on a person can be harsh, so limiting transparency is a must.

Now, we have to ask ourselves these questions: how much privacy do we need? Do we need to have time where we are not in the public eye? How much sharing is too much? The answer to these questions will differ person to person, introvert to extrovert, and shy to outgoing person. But we can agree that people need downtime here and there; time to be individuals and not worry about what others think.

Introduction: This is a propaganda poster from the 1930s, when Hitler was running for president in Germany. This form of propaganda was very apparent during this time, to try to convince people to vote for Adolf Hitler for president. People believed Hitler would change the course Germany was taking. Devastatingly, Hitler’s presidency led to the occurrence of the Nazis as well as the Second World War. It is important that people view this type of propaganda to understand that Hitler was very persuasive, so persuasive that he was elected as president. The population of Germany truly believed the country would be better off with Hitler as president, and much of that was due to this type of propaganda. This poster also shows that propaganda is still around today. Walking down the street, signs and bumper stickers advertising the presidential campaign can be found on cars, in stores, and many other places. Propaganda is still around, and it is easy to be convinced by it.

Overview: A Nazi, dressed in full uniform, is standing at attention in the center of the photograph holding a sharp object shaped like a shovel. Faint images of townspeople surround the sides of the poster, holding signs written in German, and looking quite desperate, one man with his head down on a bench. The background is completely red. There are words written in German at the bottom of the page.

Parts: The Nazi stands at attention, looking extremely poised and alert. The point of the Nazi is to give the public comfort in knowing that such a seemingly strong person is defending their country, and voting for Hitler. Impressionable children, almost of voting age, probably looked up to this strong soldier and wanted to be him. The people surrounding the poster are important as well. They show desperation and unhappiness, implying that the country is not good yet, and that Hitler can fix it. The words written in German at the bottom of the page say, “Before: Unemployment, hopelessness, desolation, strikes, lockouts. Today: Work, joy, discipline, camaraderie. Give the Führer your vote!” This writing gives the viewer a pre-Hitler and post-Hitler idea, implying that post-Hitler would be better for Germany.

Title: This poster doesn’t have a title, but if it did, it would probably be called, “Give the Führer your vote!” which are the largest words written on the bottom of the page. This title represents the goal of the poster, the goal being for everyone to vote for Hitler. It also ties the whole piece together. Though a lot of information can be withdrawn from the poster without the words, the title can tell the viewer exactly what the artist wanted you to receive from the poster at a glance.

Interpretation: The intent of this poster is for the German population to elect Hitler as the president. Because Hitler came at a time of German desperation, these posters increased his chance at becoming president. Hitler was an incredibly convincing public speaker and had many things going for him at the time. The propaganda posters were only part of it, but they worked in convincing people to vote for him. These posters worked because they showed a better Germany with Hitler’s leadership. They showed the grief of the population that almost everyone could relate to, then showed that they would be happier and better off under Hitler’s presidency. It was very easy to be convinced.

Context: Hitler came post-World War I, in a time when Germany was experiencing major economic problems. The population was desperate for a good leader that would better their economy. These propaganda posters were placed everywhere, showing a better country if Hitler became president. People believed these posters, and sure enough, elected Hitler as the next president. All in all, these propaganda posters did their job. Little did they know that Germany would only decline after Hitler became president, starting yet another world war.

Conclusion: People viewed this poster, and saw a poised, strong soldier leading the German population out of desperation. The only way they could be led was by Hitler, who seemed like the logical vote at the time. Right now, we are studying World War I and II, as well as Hitler’s, Stalin’s, and Tojo’s rule. This type of propaganda was prevalent everywhere, increasing the chances of these horrible people rising to power. There were many other types of propaganda at this time as well, including propaganda against other countries. For example, Russia had artwork against Germany, and Germany had posters against Jews. This type of artwork was incredibly convincing which is why such horrific things happened during this period of time.

Introduction: Napoleon Bonaparte, pictured in the painting holding the crown, played a large part in this period of history. He became the first emperor of France after the French Revolution, and his decisions impacted France both positively and negatively. For example, he made decisions involving individual rights–in fact, he made a book of rules called “The Napoleonic Code” that declared equality between most people, with the exception of women. This code positively impacted everyone except women. Napoleon also had many military victories which impacted other parts of the world. In France, he is known as the “Great Reformer” because of how he shaped France the way it is today. It is important for people today to see this piece because it represents a turning point in France’s and the world’s history. If Napoleon had not become emperor, France’s government might be completely different and the world might view France in a different light.

Overview: The painting is incredibly large–20’4” by 32’1”. It has a lot of dark space at the top, mostly curtains, walls, and a few onlookers in the shadows. Towards the bottom, the painting is brighter and many people dressed in robes are standing. A woman is kneeling while a man holds a crown above her. Another man is sitting in a throne behind the man with the crown. No audience member facial expressions are particularly happy; they seem to be upset. There is a cross on the right side of the painting as well as a statue.

Parts: The facial expressions of the audience set the mood for what is going on. Most of them are giving either angry or disapproving looks towards Napoleon. The way Napoleon is standing and holding the crown while facing the crowd suggests his power. The woman, Joséphine, kneeling before him also implies that Napoleon now has a lot of power. The amount of religious paraphernalia and people in the room presents the idea that this was a religious ceremony, though it is understood that it was more of an inauguration. This hints at the idea that the church and the governments were still very involved with each other at the time. The colors used are royal velvet reds, whites, and golds, demonstrating a royal scene.

Title: The title of this painting is The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Joséphine. This shows that this scene wasn’t just the coronation of Napoleon, but his wife as well. The kneeling woman dressed in elaborate robes must be Joséphine, his wife at the time. It is known that Napoleon didn’t believe in many rights for women, so though his wife was being coronated with him, she probably didn’t gain even close to as much power as him even though she was receiving a similar title.

Interpretation: The intent of this painting was to show the scene of Napoleon and Joséphine’s coronation. Napoleon shocked everyone at his coronation when the Pope was about to crown him. He turned around, grabbed the crown, and placed it on his head. This caused the angry and disapproving facial expressions from the audience members. After he crowned himself, he crowned Joséphine as well. The Pope had been there to place the crowns on their heads, but he was not of use when Napoleon took his job. The message received is power. Napoleon seems very powerful when he crowns himself–as if he’s saying he’s more powerful than the Pope!

Context: At this time in history, France had just finished their revolution. Napoleon was there to pick up the pieces of the revolutionized country and put them back together again to give the people what they wanted as well as what he wanted. The revolution was over high taxes and new Enlightenment ideas. The people wanted change and that is what the revolution and Napoleon brought. They went from having a feudal system, a decrease in the power of the Catholic church, and social class inequality to the exact opposite. Though there were a few similarities before and after the revolution, for example, there was still no freedom of the press, there were mostly changes to the French society.

Conclusion: This painting represents the radical power move Napoleon committed while being crowned emperor of France. The facial expressions, the position the Pope is seated in, and the artist’s rendering of the moment all tie into the power Napoleon so obviously holds after coronating himself. In class, we are learning about the different revolutions, including the French revolution, and Napoleon plays a major role throughout and after the war is over. This painting shows his character and who France was being led by during their time of piecing back together.

Malinalli, a slave to Hernán Cortés, grew up in a Nahuatl village in the 1500s, though she was sold off to slavery at a young age. Throughout her life, she made some decisions that make people today call her “Malinche” with bitterness in their voices. Why? Malinalli is thought of as a traitor to her country due to choices she made, but we have to look past those choices. Malinalli is a victim and that fact is shown through her decisions about who she loves, her power, and her death

Malinalli was very young when she was sold as a slave. She witnessed her own mother give her up to someone else because her mother didn’t want anything to do with her. Though she had her grandmother to guide her in the early stages of her life, Malinalli didn’t experience the love and care she needed to live a normal life with normal relationships. When Cortés noticed Malinalli and seemed to fall in love with her, she didn’t know better than to think she was in love with him too since she hadn’t had a male role model in her life. Her grandfather was not around in her life, her father died when she was young, and her mother never held a healthy relationship to show Malinalli exactly what a healthy relationship looked like. Because of this, she described Cortés like a god, though she knew he was a terrible person. “She liked watching Cortés’s body, his build, his strength, his courage, his audacity, his gift as a leader.” (pg. 112) Stockholm syndrome also has to be taken into account when reviewing Malinalli’s decisions and relationships. Stockholm syndrome happens when a person who has been taken captive begins to think they are in love with their captor. They begin to trust their captor and view them as heroic, rather than an awful person who has captured them. She viewed Cortés as a wonderful person even after he committed genocide before her eyes. Malinalli morally understood that mass murder was a horrid concept, and yet she still supported Cortés, which shows there was something happening to her idea of a healthy relationship.

As a translator, Malinalli was put in the situation of choosing between her native civilization’s existence or her freedom. She ended up choosing her freedom. Even so, none of us have been put in that situation so we can’t completely understand what she felt like. All of her choices can be related back to her childhood; she was never set a good example and was never given any role models other than the gods she worshiped and her grandmother. Malinalli didn’t know what she was getting herself into, which was evident from when she was hiding in the corner throughout the first mass murder Cortés committed. “For over two hours, the Spaniards stabbed, beat, and murdered all the Indians who were gathered there. Malinalli ran to the corner to hide and with eyes filled with horror watched Cortés and his soldiers sever arms, ears, and heads.” (pg. 94) It is obvious in this quote that Malinalli didn’t understand anyone could be so hateful and inhumane. But even though she felt so horribly here, later on in her life she still viewed Cortés as a capable human being.

Malinalli’s death may seem selfish, but in reality, it shows that not everything in her life was fine, though on the outside it seemed to be. She had a nice husband and two kids. No one was after her; her life seemed to be pretty great at the time, but then she drowned herself. She felt a spiritual pull that it was her time to go. “Malinalli, like Quetzalcóatl before her, on facing her dark side, became aware of the light. Her will was to be one with the cosmos, and she forced the limits of her body to disappear.” (pg. 185) This quote proves that Malinalli saw the dark side of herself. She knew she could’ve made better decisions throughout her life. We may never know, but she probably felt that if she kept following the path she was on, she would continue to the dark side. She felt that she may never cross to the light so Malinalli took the only chance she had and died.

Overall, Malinalli shows all signs of being a victim. Her actions and decisions may come across as selfish, and yet they all relate back to how she grew up. A stressful childhood can affect the way one acts when they get older, the kinds of relationships one makes, and the types of decisions one decides on. The only way we can better understand Malinalli is not to hate her, but to try to put ourselves in her shoes, look at her whole story, and at what she might’ve experienced.

Introduction: Usually when I think of art from the Renaissance, I think of realistic paintings using perspectives, cherub-like babies, pale women, and the use of the human body as art. This is because the Renaissance is usually associated with Europe, though it happened in many places other than Europe, such as Japan, where this painting was created. It is important for the people of today to understand that Europe isn’t the only place history comes from, and to show that even if one area of the world was going through something major like the Renaissance, other parts of the world were going through similar times.

Overview: The whole painting is mostly made up of gold, green, white, black, and red tones. The people in the painting are dressed in robes, most of them in white robes and some in green or brown patterned robes. A group of people are headed towards the lone man in the corner, with one man predominantly leading the group. Mountains, trees, and a building are in the background.

Parts: It seems very important to me that the lone man dressed in green robes is by himself on the far left while the man that is leading the group of people is in the center of the painting. The group of people following the man dressed in white robes are carrying things for him, showing that he is high up in the class system, for example, a man behind him is holding an umbrella over his head, another is carrying a throne or chair, most likely, for the man. There is a person on the right hand side of the painting near the building that is looking over at the group of people. This person seems to be of some significance though it is hard to say exactly what. Since they are standing next to what looks to be a waterwheel, meaning they are in a lower class, they might be wishing the fisherman well on his meeting with the emperor.

Title: The title of this painting is Meeting of Emperor Wen and Fisherman Lü Shang. This gives me more information about the painting, such as that the person that is leading the group of people must be the emperor since they are being treated like royalty. Also, this gives me the information that the emperor is to meet a fisherman- someone who is not high up in the class system. It is very interesting that two such people would meet.

Interpretation: The intent of this work seems to be to show the difference in social classes. The emperor has an entourage of people following him, with an umbrella, a makeshift throne, lanterns, and so much more while the fisherman is by himself. The upper class in this situation- and in most situations- is much more privileged while the lower class works hard as fishermen and still has to wait for something as exciting as meeting the emperor to change his life. This was also a legendary moment in history since a man of such a lower class was getting to meet the emperor.

Context: At the time that this painting was painted, which was around 1600, Japan was just establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate, also known as the Edo Period, which unified the country. Society reordered itself with a higher percentage of the merchant class, meaning lower class, though it was a 250 year long time of peace and stability for Japan. The people of the merchant class were not allowed to pursue any activities other than activities relating to agriculture as to not disrupt the flow of income for the upper class.

Conclusion: This painting seems to be showing an upper class person reaching out to a lower class person. The emperor seems to be enjoying himself, as does the fisherman who is probably honored to be meeting the emperor. This painting relates to what we are learning in class because we are currently learning about this time period, but when we learn about this time period, we mostly hear about Europe. This painting gives us an example of the art in a place other than Europe at this time, and of the culture.

Set Up: Three cards should be placed inside the envelope given- one place, one piece of evidence, and one person, which will eventually answer the question who? what? and where? to investigate who is to blame for the death of Antigone. Then, every player should receive one of each card, a game piece, as well as a sheet of the notepad included in the game. Don’t let anyone else see your cards! Use the notepad to check off the cards you received, and to check off other discoveries you make throughout the game.

How To Play: You begin playing by putting your token, which represents your character, on a start space closest to you. One person goes first and rolls the die given.

When you enter a place, make a proposition of who you believe could have possibly killed Antigone. Make sure to consider yourself as a suspect and to propose the place you are in within your proposition! For example: Let’s say you are Creon and you have entered the Castle. You can say, “I propose the Guard is to blame for Antigone’s death. The Guard was in the Castle and felt he had too much power,” as long as you haven’t checked any of the places, people, or evidence you mention off of your notepad.

The player on the left of the person who has just proposed opposes the proposal first. If they have one, or more, of the cards mentioned, they secretly show the proposer one of the cards. When this happens, make sure to check off the card on your notepad! If no one can show you a card from your proposal, you can either make your allegation now, or end your turn.

To make an allegation, you state where, what, and who you think should be blamed for killing Antigone, when it’s your turn. You can only make one allegation during the game! To check if you allegation is correct, take the cards out of the envelope and see if they match up. If your allegation is incorrect, put the cards back, and now you must stop playing the game.

Artist’s Statement

I am creating a board game to figure out who is to blame for Antigone’s death. You can almost take any character from Antigone and find a way to blame them for her death, so I decided to create a board game based on Clue to decide this once and for all, or multiple times depending on how many times the game is played. A person, a reason, and a place are going to blamed at the end of the board game, for example, Creon, power, and at Polyneice’s burial grounds.

I want people to have a deeper view of the play, rather than just understanding the plot of Antigone. By playing this board game, the players can understand that any of the characters can be blamed for her death. Also, the players can begin to understand more of the play’s major themes because the reason given is a theme of the play, and they can try to connect the blamed character with that theme, or with another theme. I also want the players be able to see from other points of view. Seeing from other perspectives, or other character’s perspectives in this case, is incredibly important in the real world, so hopefully this game can contribute and carry over to the real world after the game is played.

I was influenced by the thought that anyone could be blamed for Antigone’s death as well as the thought of a board game- why not put them together? I was also influenced by the main ideas of Antigone. The board game revolves around those ideas because they put the “why?” in who is to blame for Antigone’s death. If the person who “killed” Antigone is discovered, it will come with why. Loyalty? Feminism? etc.

Set Up: Three cards should be placed inside the envelope given- one place, one piece of evidence, and one person, which will eventually answer the question who? what? and where? to investigate who is to blame for the death of Antigone. Then, every player should receive one of each card, a game piece, as well as a sheet of the notepad included in the game. Don’t let anyone else see your cards! Use the notepad to check off the cards you received, and to check off other discoveries you make throughout the game.

How To Play:

You begin playing by putting your token, which represents your character, on a start space closest to you. One person goes first and rolls the die given.

When you enter a place, make a proposition of who you believe could have possibly killed Antigone. Make sure to consider yourself as a suspect and to propose the place you are in within your proposition! For example: Let’s say you are Creon and you have entered the Castle. You can say, “I propose the Guard is to blame for Antigone’s death. The Guard was in the Castle and felt he had too much power,” as long as you haven’t checked any of the places, people, or evidence you mention off of your notepad.

The player on the left of the person who has just proposed opposes the proposal first. If they have one, or more, of the cards mentioned, they secretly show the proposer one of the cards. When this happens, make sure to check off the card on your notepad! If no one can show you a card from your proposal, you can either make your allegation now, or end your turn.

To make an allegation, you state where, what, and who you think should be blamed for killing Antigone, when it’s your turn. You can only make one allegation during the game! To check if you allegation is correct, take the cards out of the envelope and see if they match up. If your allegation is incorrect, put the cards back, and now you must stop playing the game.

Introduction: This painting is representative of this time period because it shows Queen Isabella of France returning to her castle. This painting shows a city greeting their queen, which communicates to the viewer how the societies respected and greeted royalty. It is important that people view this art piece so they can understand the deeper meaning of the painting. The painting shows inequalities at the time between royalty and civilians, and men and women, yet it also shows an extremely powerful queen that doesn’t live up to the stereotypical “weak” woman. This painting is relevant today because it shows we have come a long way equality-wise, but we still have a ways to go.

Overview: The painting looks as though it popped out of a picture book, with a painting at the top and words underneath with decor and design that fills all of the empty space. The painting shows Queen Isabella of France, mentioned above, being carried through the town to a palace on a carriage. There is royalty walking on all sides of the carriage, and a religious figure, possibly the Pope, is greeting the queen at the gateway to the castle. There are civilians standing to the right and on a ledge above the queen to greet her into the palace. The castle is also pictured in the painting, with intricate towers and window designs.

Parts: A few noticeably important details of the painting are the many fleur-de-lis, where the men and women are painted in the picture, as well as where the eyes in the people of the painting are focused. The fleur-de-lis represent French royalty, perfection, light, and life, which makes sense in this painting since they are welcoming a French queen to the castle. The men and women are separated in the picture, which shows inequality in this time period. The art piece conveys that the men had more privileges than the women, since they are able to stand closer to royalty, even though they are only civilians. The last detail I noticed was where the eyes of the people in the painting are focused. This was a common element artists use in their paintings to highlight an important person or thing in the painting. In this case, the queen is being highlighted.

Title: The title of this piece is Jean Froissart, Chroniques (the ‘Harley Froissart’). The title gives the artist’s name as well as where the art piece originated. Jean Froissart, Chroniques are chronicles of the Hundred Years’ War. This automatically causes me to infer that Queen Isabella of France had something to do with the Hundred Years’ War, which, in fact, she helped initiate.

Interpretation: In the historical context, Queen Isabella of France is likely returning home with many questions to answer about the Hundred Years’ War. The piece also seemed to be trying to portray the idea of how societies greeted their queen as well as how the people of the societies interacted with one another- the royalty and civilians, and the men and women.

Context: The context of this piece is during the Hundred Years’ War. Many people were most likely confused and needed to ask many questions of Queen Isabella. People were awaiting her arrival and were very excited to see her so their questions could be answered. The people aren’t necessarily rejoicing over the fact that she is back, but they are, in no doubt, glad she has arrived to help guide them through the war.

Conclusion: This painting represents a medieval society greeting their leader after learning about a new war that has been waged. The painting is important to what we are studying because it can give us visual insight into the Hundred Years’ War, as well as Queen Isabella of France, which we have yet to learn about. It can also teach us how societies greet their leaders in medieval times, along with the inequalities that come along with greeting their leaders.

Everyone has to take a journey to find and gain wisdom, but the type of journey can differ from person to person. Some people need to go on a physical journey, others need to go on a mental journey, and the rest have to go on a mix of both.

The book Siddhartha is a good example of someone deciding for himself that he needs to go on a physical journey to become enlightened, since meditation to find wisdom and enlightenment wasn’t working for him. “‘I have come to tell you that I wish tomorrow to depart your house and go to the ascetics. It is my wish to become a shramana.’” (pg. 10) Siddhartha goes on a long expedition to enlightenment. At the end of the book, he explains to his long-time friend Govinda that the path to enlightenment isn’t the same for everyone. “‘What is treasure and wisdom to one man always sounds like utter foolishness to another.’” (pg. 114) He says this to recognize that though he went on a physical journey to gain wisdom and enlightenment, his process probably sounds silly to anyone else.

In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character, Junior, takes a mix of both mental and physical journeys to learn a lesson. His physical journey is leaving his Native American reservation to attend school in an all-white community. His mental journey is discovering that even when he felt lonely, he still belonged to many different “tribes”. “I realized that sure, I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged to that tribe. But I also belonged to the tribe of American immigrants… And the tribe of tortilla chips-and-salsa-lovers… And the tribe of boys who really missed their best friends. It was a huge realization.” (pg. 217) And the list goes on. He learned a lot about himself through doing something that no one on his reservation would ever think of attempting, which was going to an all-white school.

The book Out of my Mind is good example of a girl, Melody, who takes a mental journey, for the most part. Though she is taken out of Special Ed and placed in a more challenging class, which could be considered a physical journey, she has a lot of time with her thoughts because she can’t speak- until she is given a machine to speak with. She learns a lot about what people think of her, and how she differs and is similar to her peers. “I believe in me. And my family does. And Mrs. V. It’s the rest of the world I’m not so sure of.” (pg. 174) She also says, “We all have disabilities. What’s yours?” (pg. 168) to her peers in the middle of the book.

Everyone is not the same, so gaining wisdom and enlightenment is different for every single person. As I have shown from the evidence above, there are many different ways to gain wisdom, it just depends on what works for the person. Siddhartha felt he needed to go on a physical journey, Junior accomplished a mix of both, and Melody takes a mental journey. Many people, such as Junior and Melody, don’t decide to gain wisdom, it just happens through major events in their life.